N.C. Gen. Stat. § 147-39
The Secretary of State is charged with the custody of all statutes and joint resolutions of the legislature, all documents which pass under the great seal, and of all the books, records, deeds, parchments, maps, and papers now deposited in his office or which may hereafter be there deposited pursuant to law, and he shall from time to time make all necessary provisions for their arrangement and preservation. Every deed, conveyance, or other instrument whereby the State or any State agency or institution has acquired title to any real property and which is deposited with the Secretary of State shall be filed by him, and indexed according to the county or counties wherein the real property is situated and the name or names of the grantor or grantors and of the grantee; and the real property shall be briefly described in the index.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 147-39